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Kevin Biggar

Kevin was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group when he decided to take part in the world's toughest endurance event - the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race. This requires rowing a 7m plywood dinghy, 5000 km between the Canary Islands and Barbados. An unusual choice for anyone but particularly someone who had never rowed before and was prone to sea sickness.

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Testimonials for Kevin Biggar

"Your presentation was outstanding. The feedback we have received has been overwhelming, and your book sales must be sky rocketing! I recognise that you probably had the hardest shift of the day, starting at 7:30am after our conference late night, but your delivery, content and enthusiasm was infectious and meant that our day started off brilliantly. Your session was the highest ranking in the entire conference 96%. Well done!" -

Rhonda Parry, BDO

"Kevin held 300 people spellbound at our recent Leadership College. We live our lives by our on time performance but frankly he could have carried on for another hour and no one would have minded! He is a remarkable speaker and a remarkable man - New Zealand is lucky to claim him as one of our own."

Ed Sims, Group GM International, Air NZ

"Thank you, Kevin for a truly inspiring and motivating presentation. I was looking for an outstanding speaker to address a large group of our business leaders on teamwork, leadership and periods of significant change. In making my selection, I was guided by the excellent background and testimonials on your website and that was actually surpassed by your delivery. You made strong connections between your very entertaining account of your experiences and our desired leadership behaviours and examples. Your presentation was the highlight of our workshop and your standing ovation was testament to that."

Mary Bulog, Customer Service Manager, Inland Revenue

Kevin Biggar Travels from NZ
Fee Range: .Up to $5000

Kevin Biggar's Biography

Kevin was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group when he decided to take part in the world's toughest endurance event - the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race. This requires rowing a 7m plywood dinghy, 5000 km between the Canary Islands and Barbados. An unusual choice for anyone but particularly someone who had never rowed before and was prone to sea sickness.

Kevin used his business skills to great effect, analysing and innovating on the most critical elements of the preparations. However, plans went awry just six weeks before the start when his rowing partner pulled out and 22 year old Jamie Fitzgerald signed on as a last minute replacement.

They encountered storms, curious whales, sleep deprivation, breakages, hallucinations, stinging jellyfish and were dramatically thrown out of their boat in a night time capsize just 130 miles from Barbados, leading to a desperate and thrilling sprint to the finish. In the end, the rookie crew not only won the race they also set a new world record.

Throughout the preparations and the journey Kevin learned valuable lessons about goal setting, determination, teamwork under pressure, persevering through adversity and maximising performance.

The incredible story of Kevin's transformation from couch potato to world record holder is told in 'The Oarsome Adventures of a Fat Boy Rower' published by Random House and awarded the Sunday Star Times 'Sports Book of the Year 2008'.

Kevin then took on an even more audacious challenge - the first ever unsupported trek from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back. Starting with very limited experience (Jamie had never seen snow falling) they spent months researching, consulting with their patron Sir Edmund Hillary, training in the Arctic and rehearsing the skills they would need to survive in the highest, driest, windiest and coldest place on Earth.

The skills learned in the Atlantic were tested again and this time taken to another level. Pulling loads that started at 160kg and temperatures as cold as -40oC, they battled frostbite, injury, whiteouts, crevasses, gear failure and slow starvation. In the 52 days it took to get to the Pole Kevin lost 50 pounds.

Kevin's professional career has included working in problem solving, consulting and strategy roles at The NZ Treasury and large multinationals like The Boston Consulting Group, as well as small businesses and more recently as the CEO of a software startup.

This varied background combined with the universal appeal of his adventure stories means that his able to relate to a wide variety of audiences, ages and at all levels from the Board, to CEOs to frontline staff.

Whether it's to a small group of senior management at an executive retreat, a team off-site, or a keynote to 1800 sales staff, his advice about how to unleash your potential - shared in highly visual and entertaining presentations or dynamic interactive workshops have made a lasting impact on thousands of people.

Kevin is the rare combination of someone who not only knows the theory but has lived it, tested it, and can present it to your staff or delegates in a way that sticks.